The Prime Minister's Residence.
"Miss, a letter from Hua Manlou." A servant handed over the note.
Yang Yurong was furious after reading the note: How dare the Sixth Princess insult my people like this! I'll make her pay! These high-ranking officials are all snobbish and condescending; how can I, a person from a later era, be looked down upon by them? From now on, they'll all come begging to me!
"Spread the word about what happened last night. I want everyone to know that the Sixth Princess is a woman who steals someone else's love." After saying that, she had many pieces of jewelry and precious stones sent to Young Master Liufeng.
Leaving aside the joy and sweetness that Young Master Liufeng felt upon receiving the gifts from Yang Yurong.
Two weeks later.
There's been quite a bit of news coming to Kyoto in the last two weeks!
One story is about the sixth princess, Wei Wangqing, who got into a fight in a brothel and stole someone's love, earning her the contempt of the world.
Secondly, the fifth prince, Wei Wuyan, was betrothed to Wang Fengyue, the Minister of Works from the Wang family, the father's clan of the Empress.
Thirdly, a rumor, spread by an unknown source, claimed that Yang Yurong, the fifth young lady of the Prime Minister's residence, was actually the owner behind the auction house, hot pot restaurant, and Hua Man Lou that had been destroyed by fire in the capital. Initially, no one knew the veracity of this rumor, but the Prime Minister's residence lifted Yang Yurong's confinement, even at the cost of a falling out with the Prince An's residence. This suggests that the rumor was not entirely unfounded.
Finally, the Southern Dynasty actually sent envoys to negotiate peace, proposing friendly relations and forming an alliance. I heard they'd even arrange a marriage alliance! You really do see all sorts of things when you live long enough!
The Sixth Princess's Residence.
Li Nuo was reporting on recent events. The beggars in the capital had been brought together into a force, and there was a growing trend of them spreading outwards. His subordinates were also making progress, and everything was on track.
"Your Highness, recent rumors seem to be orchestrated by Yang Yurong herself, possibly to lift her confinement."
"Hmm." Given Yang Yurong's mischievous nature, how could she possibly resist joining in when the Southern Dynasty sent envoys? And her status as a concubine's daughter was certainly not enough; she would definitely need to increase her own leverage.
Li Nuo paid attention to Yang Yurong because she discovered that this person seemed to be subtly targeting His Highness. Recent rumors about His Highness frequenting brothels had been confirmed to have been spread by this person. However, His Highness's statement that the rumors didn't need to be cleared up didn't mean this person had no malicious intentions.
"Is there anything else?" Wei Wangqing had no intention of dealing with Yang Yurong; he just felt that the woman was asking for trouble.
"The merchants selected by Steward He have chosen a representative who has arrived in the capital and wishes to meet with Your Highness to discuss cooperation matters."
"Okay, where is she?"
"She has her own courtyard in the capital, so she must be staying there. Should I send someone to bring her here?"
Wei Wangqing nodded, "Go ahead." The sooner it's over, the better. But a tycoon is a tycoon; he has a yard wherever he goes.
Not long after, Li Nuo brought the person over.
This person looks quite wealthy and shrewd, yet strangely, he doesn't seem annoying.
The visitor bowed and said, "Greetings, Your Highness, the Sixth Princess."
"Please sit down."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
"Tell me the purpose of your trip," Wei Wangqing said, getting straight to the point.
"My name is Lin Dagui, and I am the richest man in Jiangcheng. I have come here on behalf of all the merchants you have rallied to seek Your Highness's protection. We dare not trouble Your Highness with your efforts, but we only ask that if local officials cause trouble, we can invoke Your Highness's name to avoid disaster. For this, we are willing to offer half of our wealth in exchange for Your Highness's protection," Lin Dagui said sincerely.
"Half of the wealth?" I don't need to do anything, just mention the title, but I still feel somewhat unworthy of it!
Lin Dagui thought to himself, "As expected, they still think it's not enough." He had already asked before coming, and everyone's bottom line was that they would give up 60% of their assets!
"Your Highness, if Your Highness truly feels it is insufficient, we..."
Lin Dagui was still talking, but Wei Wangqing felt something was off. Who thought it was too little?
"I didn't say it was too little, I meant it was too much?" Wei Wangqing originally thought it was only about 30%.
"Huh?" Lin Dagui was stunned.
"How about this, I'll take a cut of your profits, meaning from now on, I'll receive 40% of the revenue from all your businesses. How does that sound?" With their own reputation protecting them, their business would surely be much easier in the future.
Wei Wangqing smiled and said, "This way it's good for long-term business. Aren't you afraid I'll take the money and then suddenly renege on the debt?"
Lin Dagui was still dazed from being hit by a pie, and upon hearing this, he hurriedly said, "How could that be?"
So, agree or...
"Agreed, agreed, agreed." Lin Dagui nodded hurriedly, afraid that the other party would change their mind.
"Okay, that's good. But when my people contacted you, they also told you that anyone who dares to act as an accomplice to evil, is rich but heartless, or does bad things in my name, I will never let them off easily."
Lin Dagui was startled to realize that he had never thought the Sixth Princess was easy to talk to. After all, she was a member of the royal family and not someone they could look down on.
"Yes, Your Highness, please rest assured, we would never do such a thing." They were all generally kind and charitable people; even if they hadn't done anything good, they certainly hadn't done anything bad. After all, the steward had put a lot of effort into finding the right person.
"Hmm, very good. From now on, you are all mine. As long as you don't make any mistakes, I will protect you even if something happens." Using both kindness and severity, Wei Wangqing felt extremely pleased with herself! The princess was doing a very good job.
Lin Dagui was indeed deeply moved. He had thought that being able to use His Highness's name was already a blessing from his ancestors, but who would have thought that His Highness would actually be willing to speak up for them? Even if it was just talk, it would be enough, since no official had ever spoken up for them before, let alone a member of the royal family. If he went back and told those people, they would probably be stunned.
"Thank you, Your Highness, for lending us a helping hand." She would always remember this kindness.
"It's nothing, isn't it a win-win situation?" Wei Wangqing genuinely felt that way; you give me money, and I'll pave the way for you.
Merchants, however, had such a low social status that no one was willing to offer them even an equal exchange. Without family support, even immense wealth couldn't be retained; it could even lead to the extermination of the entire family. Therefore, this protection was extremely important to them.
"Well, if there's nothing else, let's leave it at that. Do you want to wander around Kyoto some more? I can have someone show you the way." After all, he's one of my own people now.
"Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness, but I really can't leave my family. I only managed to squeeze in this time to come," Lin Dagui said with a wry smile.
Lin Dagui's visit was both to express their sincerity and to see what kind of person the Sixth Princess was, and whether she was worth cooperating with, since they didn't want to be sold out so easily. But the gains this time certainly exceeded their expectations!
"Alright then, have a safe journey." Wei Wangqing didn't press the matter.
"Thank you, Your Highness. I'll take my leave now." Lin Dagui left with a smile.
Hmm, it looks even more festive now!
We won't go into details about Lin Dagui's letter to those people after he returned, where he boasted extensively about the Sixth Princess. In the blink of an eye, the day arrived for the Southern Dynasty's envoy to arrive in the capital.
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